The Reading of the Personal Letter as the Background for the Reading of the Scriptures in the Early Church

Abstract

The earliest churches met in private households, and this remained true for the first two or three centuries. In larger cities several house churches might meet, each accommodating twenty or thirty people, and without much contact one with the other. Christians of Jewish background were accustomed to hearing the Law and Prophets read in the synagogue, but neither the Law nor the Prophets, not even the Writings, include the genre of the personal letter. Personal letters made their way back and forth across the Roman Empire. The archisynagogus decided who should read the Scriptures, which were wrapped in linen cloths and lay in a case in the ark, the main object in the synagogue. The earliest churches met under private auspices, either in a domus or in an apartment, in the latter case in rather crowded circumstances. Keywords: Christians; earliest churches; personal letter; scriptures; synagogue